XREAL AURA launches as Android XR wired glasses, with prices starting at $1,099

Google and XREAL announced AURA on October 28 as wired glasses running Android XR, marking the product’s arrival as a new device in the XR category.¹ XREAL described AURA as the first wired XR glasses to use Android XR and the first wired XR glasses to debut with the Snapdragon Reality Elite Platform.² The company introduced the glasses on stage at Google’s Android Developer Summit, making the announcement part of a developer-focused event.² The launch pricing covers two memory and storage combinations rather than one universal configuration: 12GB + 256GB costs $1,099, while 16GB + 512GB costs $1,299.² That comparison supports describing $1,099 as the entry price for the lower-capacity model, not as the price of every AURA configuration.²

The higher-capacity option includes more memory and storage than the lower-capacity one, and its listed price is also higher.² The prices were presented as a limited-time launch offer, so they describe launch-period terms rather than an unqualified permanent price.² A report from Japan separately said the promotional offer would run through year-end, with prices beginning at 1099ドル.¹ The Japanese report also gave a direct-sale price of 22万9800円 and said orders there were scheduled to start November 2.¹ These reports give prices in different currencies and describe different market details, so the figures should not be treated as a direct currency comparison.¹²

For customers in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea, ordering could begin on October 28, according to the company’s release.² The Japanese coverage gave a later local ordering date, November 2, and specified a direct-sale price for that market.¹ The company expected devices to start shipping in mid-November, placing delivery after the initial order period.² The Japanese report said the product was intended for people aged 18 and older, identifying an age limit in that market coverage.¹ Together, the ordering dates, shipping estimate, and age guidance describe distinct parts of availability: when orders could be placed, when units might ship, and who the report said the device was for.¹²

XREAL developed AURA in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., linking the glasses to both the Android XR platform and Qualcomm technology.² The company’s split-compute design puts the principal computing components and battery in a small separate puck joined to the glasses by a cable.² The Japanese report identifies the chip in that separate device as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Reality Elite.¹ The glasses themselves use transparent optical see-through lenses, allowing the wearer to view the surrounding room and people while digital material appears within their view.² The Japanese report gives the field of view as 70 degrees and the glasses’ weight as 95g, two measures of the eyewear rather than of the separate puck.¹²

AURA can display several apps at the same time, and users can change the dimensions and placement of those app windows.¹ At launch, the company said users could draw on millions of familiar mobile apps and games from Google Play alongside XR-focused software.² It also described a growing collection of over 150 experiences made specifically for XR, a separate measure of content built for the format.² These figures describe different types of available content: the millions refer to mobile apps and games, while the over-150 count refers to XR-made experiences.² AURA is therefore presented as supporting both standard mobile software and purpose-built XR material, rather than relying on only one of those libraries.²

A computer or handheld gaming console can connect over USB-C through Wired Mirroring, allowing its screen to appear beside native Android XR apps.² The Japanese report specifies that the USB-C cable must support video output and says the connection does not require dedicated software installation.¹ The combination is described as bringing external-device displays and native XR applications into one spatial workspace, rather than limiting the glasses to either source.² This arrangement gives the device a route for showing content from a connected computer or console as well as software running in the Android XR environment.² The listed connection requirements matter to that use: the cable needs video capability, but the Japanese account says a dedicated program is unnecessary.¹

AURA supports Bluetooth keyboards and mice, and the compact connected device can also serve as a touchpad.¹ Those control options complement the ability to position and resize multiple app windows, although the reports do not specify which input method is required for each task.¹ The Japanese report also says the glasses support Gemini, which can answer questions using surroundings or screen material that the user shares with it.¹ That description ties the assistant’s responses to information supplied from the wearer’s environment or display, rather than presenting it as an unrestricted source of context.¹ The combination of app controls, mirrored screens, and Gemini support indicates several forms of interaction, while the cited reports do not quantify how often users might use them.¹²

XREAL CEO Chi Xu said the aim was to make spatial computing available without cutting users off from the world around them.² That stated aim aligns with the see-through lens design, which lets users retain a view of rooms and nearby people as digital content is shown.² The product’s wired construction and separate computing puck are also part of its described hardware arrangement, with the main processing components and battery located off the glasses.² Taken together, the materials describe a device that combines Android XR software with a tethered hardware layout and transparent viewing, rather than a self-contained glasses unit.¹² The launch information does not provide a comparative benchmark against other glasses, so its first-of-kind descriptions remain XREAL’s characterization of AURA.²

The announcement places AURA at the intersection of Google’s Android XR ecosystem, Qualcomm’s platform technology, and XREAL’s wired glasses design.¹² Its supported use cases span Google Play mobile apps and games, a library of over 150 XR-specific experiences, and displays from connected computers or handheld consoles.² The launch geography named by the company includes the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea, while the cited Japanese coverage adds local ordering and price details.¹² The reported start of shipping in mid-November follows the October 28 announcement and ordering date in several markets, with Japan’s report giving November 2 as its scheduled order date.¹² What changed at launch is the arrival of wired Android XR glasses with stated first-of-kind platform claims, two priced configurations, and access to both native and connected-device content.¹²